RECAP AND REVIEW: The Jim Ross Report with Angelina Love on why her WWE release was a blessing, what brought her and Velvet Sky together, Billy Gunn helping her career, her thoughts on Ronda Rousey

The Jim Ross Report

Release Date: November, 21, 2018

Running time: 1:49:52

Recap by: Joe Aguinaldo

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Show Open

  • Welcome back to another week of Slobberknocker Audio. J.R. wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and he says it’s the most difficult holiday for her since his wife Jan passed. She used to cook all week and the house smelled good which he really misses.
  • J.R. took a tumble last week. He missed a couple of steps coming from a friends house, but luckily, his face broke his fall (he said that, not me). He has a small concussion, some blood and some loose teeth but overall he’s fine.

3:18 – What’s On J.R.’s Mind

Charlotte vs. Ronda

  • J.R. was impressed by the Charlotte/Ronda Rousey matchup. It had the most physicality and emotion in any women’s match he had ever seen. The women today are so far ahead athletically than their predecessors.
  • It was an organic match. He also gives credit to Fit Finlay who was the agent for that match.
  • They didn’t do anything that took J.R. out of the moment and their facial expressions, body english and timing was a whole different level than Rousey had been on.
  • Becky Lynch has set the table and J.R. thinks she has superseded all the other women in the company. She’s the top woman in the WWE, which to many means she is the top woman in wrestling (which is subjective).
  • Becky’s attitude, her grit, the angle with Rousey and getting her face broken, this misstep can enhance everyone.
  • As great as Charlotte/Rousey was, the fans were ready for it because they had high expectations thanks to the angle between Becky and Ronda.
  • It could potentially be Becky vs. Ronda at WrestleMania.

Brock vs. Daniel Bryan

  • J.R. appreciated the effort and the strategy of the Brock vs. Bryan match.
  • They made a new match out of the scenario. It was believable and it was real.
  • It became more real when Bryan using wrestling techniques and some MMA made it believable despite the size difference between them.
  • There were times in the match when Paul Heyman had some great sound bites but the announcers did not relay that. They may have missed out on some drama by not allowing Paul’s audio to come through.
  • J.R. can see Daniel Bryan being a full fledged heel but it won’t be easy.

Strowman Out For Surgery

  • Braun Strowman is going through some arthroscopic surgery to clean up some bone chips and spurs. Unless they discover something in the surgery, he should be back in a couple of weeks.

Dives In Wrestling

  • J.R. has noticed the overuse of a variety of dives. The more their used, the less they mean. They’re high risk, low reward because they rarely lead to a finish
  • A guy like Seth Rollins doesn’t need to do dives. He’s a big time, high value talent with a lot of money behind him. He knows how to wrestle and sell. Use those skills more and be more judicious with dives.

Upcoming Appearances

  • Saturday, November 23rd, J.R., will be at Wrestlecade
  • Saturday December 8th, J.R, and The King at Hilarities. Check out www.hilarities.com

Additional Notes

  • J.R. gives his best wishes to Alex Smith who had a bad leg injury. 33 years ago to the day, Joe Theismann also suffered a horrible leg injury.
  • On Friday Night, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be competing in a PPV for a 9 million dollar payday.

Around The Wrestling Horn

  • David Arquette was recently in a deathmatch which didn’t go well. He got a light tube broken over his head and got cut. He doesn’t need to be in a match of that nature. Bookers should never put someone in a match if you don’t know their skillset.
  • Congratulations to ROH for a successful year. Their last two shows of the year are coming up in New York City.
  • Impact Wrestling’s Homecoming PPV is on January 6th. Tickets go on sale Monday, November 26th. Check www.impactwrestling.com

Survivor Series

  • Buddy Murphy defended his title against Mustafa Ali, however, J.R. wishes he cared about both guys more. They have skills but they haven’t made an emotional attachment to Jim because he doesn’t watch the 205 show every week. This is why J.R. thinks there should be a 205 match on Raw or Smackdown every week.
  • J.R. didn’t like the pee angle (with Drake Maverick)
  • Nia Jax made a nice impression. J.R. predicts Nia will tap at TLC against Rousey

NXT Takeover

  • J.R. felt the war games was the focal point of the NXT PPV and we well done. It’s hard to process that many people and moving parts.
  • J.R. says it may have been a bit too much orchestration but the effort was amazing and it was a spectacular attraction
  • Ciampa and Dream had a great match.
  • Alistair Black vs. Johnny Gargano was excellent

29:05 – Slobberknocker Of The Week

Candidates Include:

  • Former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg who donated $1.8 billion dollars to John Hopkins University.
  • Lebron James who J.R. says is still the best basketball player in the game today
  • The Pittsburgh Steelers who are 7-2-1 after a dubious start to the season
  • The recent Monday Night Football game featuring the Chiefs and the Rams. Rams won 54-51
  • Gardiner Minshew (QB for Washington State). 7 TD passes, no picks and 473 yards in his last game

This week’s winners are Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey for their match at Survivor Series

34:48 – Pet Coon Goofy Award

Candidates include:

  • Bill Maher who disrespected Stan Lee’s legacy and talked about the ridiculousness of comic books
  • Enzo Amore who caused a stir at Survivor Series.

This week’s winner is Mark D’Amico who forced his ex-girlfriend to peddle a phony tale of charity that got them $400K of donations that they pocketed.

40:31 – This Week In Wrestling – The Thanksgiving Edition

63 years ago, 1955 – JWA – Rikidozan became the inaugural All Asian Heavyweight Champion. He held that title for 8 years until his death at the hands of the Yakuza.

38 Years ago – 1980 – Mid South’s Thanksgiving Day Superdome Extravaganza – Jake Roberts defeated Paul Ellering, Ted DiBiase defeated The Super Destroyer, Dusty Rhodes beat Ivan Koloff, JYD/Bill Watts beat Ernie Ladd/Leroy Brown, The Grappler defeated Killer Karl Kox and Ernie Ladd defeated Paul Orndorff.

37 Years ago – 1981 – Iron Sheik defeated King Cobra, Ernie Ladd defeated Kerry Von Erich, Dusty Rhodes beat The Great Kabuki, Ted DiBiase beat Bob Roop and in the main event, JYD/Mike George beat Paul Orndorff/Bob Orton Jr.

35 years ago – 1983 – The Inaugural Starrcade – Ric Flair beat Harley Race for the NWA title in a cage match and Ricky Steamboat/Jay Youngblood beat the Briscoe Brothers for the tag team titles.

32 years ago – 1986 – UWF Superdome Extravaganza – Leroy Brown/Bill Irwin beat Joe Savoldi/Gary Young, Chavo Guerrero beat Sting, Savannah Jack beat Buddy Landell via forfeit, Jim Duggan beat One Man Gang by DQ, One Man Gang won a battle Royal. Terry Taylor beat Buddy Roberts in a cage match then assisted Steve Williams who defeated Michael Hayes as part of the stipulation of those two matches

31 years ago – 1987 – Chi-Town Heat – Ric Flair defeated Ronnie Garvin to win the NWA title, Dusty Rhodes beat Lex Luger and the Arn Anderson/Tully Blanchard beat The Road Warriors

30 years ago – Turner finalized the deal to purchase Jim Crockett promotions which led to the birth of WCW

Birthdays:

Afa (76), Shane Douglas (54), Ed Ferrara (52), the late Gene Kiniski would have been 90, Juventud Guerrero (44), Sumi Sakai (47), Beth Phoenix (38), the late Johnny Valiant would have been 72, Josh Matthews (38), the late Connor Mahalak would have been 13, the late Blackjack Mulligan would have been 76, Ivory (57), the late Playboy Buddy Rose would have been 66 and Satoru Sayama (61)

57:52 – Mailbag

Please send comments, suggestions and questions to thejimrossreport@gmail.com

Q: Given the current state of women’s wrestling, have the WWE found a way to captivate the audience like they did in the Attitude Era?

A: The women are connecting with the audience better than most of the men. J.R. cares about Becky and Charlotte. Ronda was a made star and they are enhancing that and there’s still Asuka who is underused right now.

Q: What are a few of J.R.’s favorite Nebraska vs. Oklahoma rivalries?

A: The 1971 game for the National Championship. Some games in the 80s where OU would go to Nebraska.

Q: Question about managers.

A: Bobby Heenan was the best ever with Jimmy Hart not too far behind. The talent pool for managers got shallow but it looks like managers are becoming more relevant with Lio Rush, Drake Maverick and Paul Heyman. The right person with the right faction presented correctly can be an effective manager in the WWE or anywhere else.

1:06:52 – Angelina Love

J.R. welcomes Angelina Love to the podcast.

Q: He says she is an amazing woman because she’s a single mom while still wrestling and doing movies and asks how does she do it?

A: Angelina says when she became a mom, she felt she could do anything. She’s 37 and has been wrestling for 18 years. She feels that she’ll be part of the business for a long time yet even if she’s not competing. She has also dabbled in acting mainly in Canada and had some scenes in a Netflix movie called ‘Christmas With A View’

J.R. and Angelina talk about her son who is her number one priority.

Q: Does Angelina celebrate Thanksgiving?

A: Yes. She goes all out. Both her parents were part of big families and every holiday was a big deal and some of the best memories she has. She wants her son to have those same memories as well.

Q: Where did wrestling fit to a young Angelina Love?

A: She used to watch sports with her dad but she stumbled on wrestling flipping the channels. The first thing she remembers watching is Randy Savage dropping an elbow on Ricky Steamboat.

Q: What pushed Angelina to get trained and get into wrestling?

A: She didn’t know how to get involved. She used to play the trivia games on wwf.com and met an indie ring announcer in one of the chat rooms. He found some websites of indie promotions in the Toronto area and she got some responses because there weren’t many women in independent shows. She worked for a year and a half before she decided to train. She started training with Eric Young and after her first three weeks, she thought this wasn’t for her as she couldn’t do anything properly. She took a 6 week break and really missed it and when she came back, things started clicking which helped her confidence.

Q: Who did Angelina train with the second time around

A: Rob Fuego who used to do dark matches for WWE when they came to Toronto. He’s friends with a bunch of wrestlers such as Edge, Christian and Johnny Swinger. He also trained Gail Kim and Taylor Wild. Rob was great and loved training the girls.

Angelina was in WWE developmental (Deep South) for two years and got released. Five months later she signed with TNA. She wanted to be called up and felt she was ready. When she got released, she was sad but in hindsight it was a blessing because she wouldn’t have gone to TNA and would have never teamed with Velvet Sky in the Beautiful People which she feels was meant to happen. The Battle Royal at Bound For Glory 2007 was the start of the Knockouts Division and the fans were craving female characters and female wrestlers. Angelina is glad to be part of that at the start. They were having so much fun and were getting the highest ratings on Spike TV.

Q: Who were Angelina’s go to agents?

A: There were numerous agents for the women such as Scott D’Amore and Savio Vega. Someone who helped Angelina personally was Billy Gunn because he was part of the Beautiful People for a time.

Q: What is that brought Angelina and Velvet Sky together?

A: There are a lot of similarities between them. They would dress the same and do their hair to the nines. They were also both ridiculous and had the same sense of humor. Being able to get along personally helped their wrestling personas and made them authentic. They would play off each other and would act the same way in the ring as they did backstage. Wrestling at the time needed what they were doing and they were the two best people to do it.

Back in 2008, Kevin Kelly and Angelina were doing an interview and the guy doing the interview stopped and said he was surprised at how nice she was. He was expecting her to be like she was on TV which is good because it means she’s believable. She took that as a compliment.

Q: What are Angelina’s thoughts of Ronda Rousey?

A: Angelina thinks she’s doing great. Even though Ronda hasn’t been in wrestling, she has been in jiu-jitsu and MMA fighting her whole life. It’s challenging to transition from MMA to pro wrestling because they train balls to the wall. They train hard but when they come to pro wrestling, they have to pull back and not hurt anyone. Angelina feels Ronda has made the jump to pro wrestling very well.

Angelina asks J.R. why he thinks the audience booed Rousey at the end of the Survivor Series match. J.R. doesn’t have a definitive answer but thinks it’s because the audience seems to be so keen to be part of the show and presentation. Also we live in a defiant society. He felt sorry for Ronda because she worked her a** off.

Q: Does the audience get too immersed in their role of the presentation?

A: Angelina thinks so. Social media has outed a lot of the secrets of wrestling. There are also people who want attention for themselves. She is not sure why people booed Ronda.

J.R. thinks she shouldn’t have put Ronda on TV the night after that match especially since she got beaten so badly. Angelina thinks it wouldn’t have hurt Ronda if she hadn’t appeared.

Q: J.R. brings up Becky Lynch and asks Angelina for her opinion

A: Angelina says Becky is more comfortable doing what she’s doing now and needed something different than what she was doing. When she ‘turned’ the fans wanted it and it took her a week to get over. It’s believable and people want believable.

Follow Angelina on @ActualALove and @Alove4Life222 on IG.

J.R. admires Angelina’s work ethic and the fact she puts being a mom ahead of everything.

J.R. thanks Angelina for being on the show, wishes her a Happy Thanksgiving and they sign off.

1:43:25 – Show Wrap

J.R. thanks Angelina for being on the show, goes through some 5 star ratings, pushes his upcoming appearances and wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. And that’s a wrap.

Rating – 7/10

I did not know Angelina Love was a single parent and the fact her son is her priority over all else is amazing because that hasn’t always been the case with people in the business. She also had an interesting backstory and the fact she’s from my hometown is a bonus. That said, I was not a huge fan of the podcast. Angelina and J.R. spent the first ten minutes of the interview talking about Angelina’s son. I have no problems with wanting to talk about your son (I have two boys of my own) but I thought that was a little much and I almost turned off the podcast at that stage. Even once they got started, I found I just couldn’t get into it. Thumbs slightly above middle for me on this one.

About Joe:

Joe is a long time wrestling fan from Toronto. He is a co-host on the Pull Apart Podcast with Jeff Rush and Caitlin Lavelle as well as a contributor to www.pwpodcasts.com. One of his life goals is to be a guest host on one of Wade Keller’s post-show podcasts. He doesn’t consider himself any sort of expert, he just likes wrestling. Check him out on Twitter and Instagram @ja113.

 

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